This invention relates to improvements in a system for cleaning weaving machines, and at the same time, conditioning the weft yarns to improve both the quality of the fabric and the production of the weaving machines. The invention relates to equipment which is strategically located in an area of the weaving machine where a significant part of lint, fly, dust, oil, etc. are generated from the operation of the weaving machine.
Lint, fly and dust (hereinafter referred to as lint) are minute textile fibers, size and other particles which have become separated from the warp yarn or from the weft yarn at a number of different locations, especially where the warp yarns pass through the eyes of the drop wires, the eyes of the heddles, and between the blades of the reed. Lint is also generated from handling of the weft yarn. Such lint tends to collect on the surfaces of the weaving machine and is often incorporated into the fabric inadvertently when a large chunk of such lint falls off the surface of the weaving machine into the warp shed, or is entwined about individual warp or weft yarns and passes into the fabric past the beat-up point, resulting in defective fabric.
Lint is also objectionable because thick layers of the lint forming on the weaving machine surfaces may clog the weaving machine by falling into the weaving machine mechanisms and also collect oil used to lubricate the weaving machine. Furthermore, such large accumulations of this highly flammable material constitutes a fire hazard.
The general cleaning approach in most mills today is to permit the lint to accumulate on the surfaces of the weaving machine and periodically to manually blow such lint off of the weaving machine surfaces onto the floor where it is manually swept up by brooms. This removes a large amount of the lint; however, much of the lint is suspended in the air and lands back on the weaving machines, accumulates on the walls or ceilings, or into the fabric. With the high speed weaving machines used in today's textile plants, much production is lost due to the cleaning of the machines, therefore, it has become necessary to provide means for cleaning the weaving machines continuously to remove the bulk of the lint from the surfaces of the weaving machine while such machines are in operation.
Many attempts have been made to provide for a cleaning mechanism on weaving machines. One such attempt is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,201. This patent teaches a system which requires that each weaving machine be provided with a downwardly opening hood which fits snugly around the weaving machine and which has an annular rim around the downwardly directed opening thereof. The hood is supported by a mechanism which moves the hood upwardly and away from the operative position. The atmosphere within the hood is said to be maintained at a temperature of 15.degree. to 50.degree. C. by a source of air at that temperature which is supplied through the floor under the weaving machine. An exhaust conduit is also provided for leading the air injected into the hood outwardly after it has circulated around the weaving machine.
There are many problems connected with the device in U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,201. The main problem is that the mechanism is very cumbersome and it is very difficult for the weavers to have access to the weaving machines when broken warp yarns or the like must be repaired. Furthermore, the system disclosed in this patent does little or no cleaning of the surfaces of the weaving machine.
Another attempt was made in U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,998. In this patent, an attempt is made to provide an enclosure for the yarn manipulating mechanism of a weaving machine. A hood is provided for enclosing the upper portion of the weaving machine. This hood has an opening for receiving air. An air input means is connected to the opening in the hood. A central chamber is attached to the hood which encloses the working instrumentalities of the weaving machine at points where the lint is normally discharged and collects. A base enclosure is connected to the central chamber for receiving accumulated lint from the central chamber. A suction and collecting unit is provided for the base enclosure for creating a negative pressure within the hood. The flow of air through the enclosure is said to pass through the machinery and to maintain it substantially free from lint and fly.
The enclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,998 makes it very difficult for the weaver to get at the weaving mechanism to repair broken warp ends or broken weft ends, as was pointed out above, with regard to the device in U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,201. It should also be pointed out, however, that the air flow provided by both of these patents is generalized and is not concentrated upon the surfaces where the lint is most likely to accumulate. The general flow of air through these all encompassing housings does not remove the lint from the machine surfaces unless the flow is so strong as to cause false stops of the warp motion. While the device in U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,998 might be adequate for conditioning the yarn, it is not adequate for cleaning the surfaces of the weaving machine, and is so burdensome upon the weavers as to preclude its commercial usage.
An early attempt to clean a weaving machine was suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 1,850,502. In this patent, a pan-like device is located below the warp threads between the harnesses and the whip roll for collecting dust, fly and lint by a downdraft of air induced by a suction device, which is connected to the bottom of the pan or receptacle. While this device may collect some fly or lint from the warp yarns there is no suggestion that this device could clean adjacent surfaces of the weaving machine or condition the warp yarn by drawing the ambient atmosphere over and through the warp yarns.
A more recent attempt, which is similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 1,850,502 is found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,984,263. In the system shown in this patent, a collection system is mounted directly on the weaving machine under the stop motion where it is said that the major fly and lint accumulation takes place. The system of this patent primarily utilizes a directed high velocity stream of air to cause a low pressure area in its surrounding environment, which draws the lint and fly to it and then transmits the lint and fly to a desired collection point. The use of such an air stream is said to be much more efficient than the use of a vacuum, and thus enables the device to collect large portions of lint and fly without the use of large, powerful or expensive equipment. While the device shown in this patent may be an efficient collector of lint which falls onto the surfaces of its baffles, there is nothing in this patent to indicate that the ambient atmosphere of the weave room is drawn across the surfaces of the warp yarn to condition such yarn prior to weaving. Furthermore, no provision is made for cleaning the surfaces of the heddles or harnesses or weft insertion device where large amounts of fly and lint are also generated.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,435 a nozzle body with the shape of a prism is positioned across the warp directly above the reed and adjacent to the heddles of the weaving machine so that air currents containing dust are fanned by the oscillating reed into the inlet of a suction nozzle. While this device may be adequate to remove lightweight dust, fly or lint set into motion already by the reed, it is not adequate for conditioning the warp yarn or the weft yarn, nor does this mechanism suggest or teach any way in which the stop motion can be cleaned and the warp yarn conditioned at the same time.
Another more elaborate attempt to provide a cleaning mechanism for a weaving machine is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,135. In this system, the patentees suggest the provision of one enclosure for the sley and reed and another enclosure for the warp stop motion, and still a third enclosure for the harness mechanism. The patentees suggest that the air within the various enclosures is conditioned and that such housings or enclosures, prevent the escape of lint or fly into the weave room at large. While the enclosures shown and suggested in this patent will enable the maintenance of the desired atmospheric conditions within the chambers and will provide some cleaning of adjacent weaving machine surfaces, it still suffers from the adverse drawback of being very difficult for the weaver to operate the weaving machines with this mechanism in place.
Still another attempt to provide a cleaning mechanism is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,678,965. In this patent, lint and fly is said to be effectively and efficiently removed by suction box 34 located in the path of the warp yarns between the warp stop motion and the harnesses, with a first suction opening directed towards the warp stop motion, and a second suction opening directed towards the harnesses. Suction means is connected to the suction box for drawing the atmosphere across the warp stop motion and across the harnesses. However, this device is in a position which will necessarily interfere with the weaving operations by the weavers. For example, one merely has to observe FIG. 1 to determine how difficult it would be for the weaver to repair broken warp yarns which requires him to thread-up a new yarn through the stop motion, the hood and the warp heddles. Thus, such handicaps to the weaver makes it very unlikely that this device can function successfully on a commercial basis.